 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed 7 {! M6 ~1 A# c2 X' r
each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and / j# K7 Q% G. }" t
shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a
$ \6 I Q1 k# F1 t$ K; n1 p, Fnursing home today.
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& M& h+ {2 t8 H/ oHis wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. : l' W; e* ~! l; d8 W
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, / f; ~+ m/ c' a0 ~- @4 e$ ?- t- |
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. ' m: B' {$ D( W0 D% J- |) U
2 E6 U+ Z$ P0 t4 ^8 wAs he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual / Q# w) y; m* K* g$ Q
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been - U' _/ }: k) h7 j N, s: ?
hung on his window.
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"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
! c3 x) N, j: A4 B6 x) n0 ajust been presented with a new puppy.
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2 {- t- h5 z( g* @"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
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. T- ]1 X/ t6 s' o, w9 Q2 {"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied.
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"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
. f) R/ ~% r R- I( p/ s: Zroom or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how
6 n, Q. s$ }2 O( l$ qI arrange my mind. I already decided to love it." . b) D0 P- y" f: |, ~* k, R0 i
8 E) `( ~9 x4 fIt's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. 7 u/ E H: G3 y1 c @% _- c4 X* V2 z3 r
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I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I
/ C$ T6 I- ]+ _% zhave with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed
& B% ^4 R3 w, ?0 qand be thankful for the ones that do.
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Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new
# n( _2 y/ w, h) S% y+ h9 wday and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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1 h* Z7 U6 T9 X8 @4 I" qJust for this time in my life.
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0 L m6 X8 f( f' F4 j* X COld age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. 9 O* k F. U* e0 r7 A g- R7 L, p
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So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
* l' H* ]4 P' F4 s$ iaccount of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
+ v8 |% C- ?! L( tI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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$ C8 n. r/ }( t* ^' r# C% T0 L 1. Free your heart from hatred. U$ f3 i/ X6 x( }# q7 _* |" t
2. Free your mind from worries. 3 e- [: Q; V! D+ i, B
3. Live simply.
6 u$ X/ v" [! L* G C. L/ ?0 y 4. Give more.
9 \7 k2 D$ E- M% e+ ^ 5. Expect less. |
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